Apple plans to release its first Smart Glasses without partnering with a fashion brand, according to people familiar with the company’s plans — a deliberate departure from the approach Meta took with Ray-Ban.
Meta launched its Ray-Ban Smart Glasses in 2023 in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the Italian eyewear giant behind Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Persol. The collaboration gave Meta instant credibility in fashion and wearables.
Apple appears to be betting it does not need that kind of endorsement.
A Different Kind of Brand Power
Apple’s brand recognition in consumer hardware runs deep. The company sold approximately 232 million iPhones in 2023 alone, according to data from IDC, giving it a built-in global audience that few technology companies can match.
That reach means Apple can introduce a new product category on its own terms, without leaning on an established name in fashion to drive consumer trust.
Meta, by contrast, needed Ray-Ban’s heritage to signal that its smart glasses were wearable in public — not just a gadget strapped to a face.
What Meta’s Model Proved
The Meta Ray-Ban glasses have sold well enough to validate the category. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in early 2024 that the glasses had exceeded the company’s internal sales expectations, though he did not disclose specific unit figures.
Still, analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence have noted that fashion legitimacy played a meaningful role in consumer adoption — particularly among buyers who would otherwise hesitate to wear visible technology.
Apple’s industrial design team, led for decades by Jony Ive before his 2019 departure, has historically produced hardware that consumers treat as status objects without any external fashion validation. The original AirPods, widely mocked at their 2016 launch, became a cultural signifier within two years.
What Apple’s Glasses Might Look Like
Specific details about Apple’s smart glasses remain limited. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a long track record of accurate Apple reporting, has indicated the company is developing glasses as part of a broader wearables push that also includes updated versions of its Vision Pro headset.
Gurman has reported that Apple’s glasses would likely include cameras and AI-powered features — functionality that mirrors what Meta already offers in its Ray-Ban line.
That said, Apple typically enters a product category after competitors have tested consumer appetite, then attempts to define the market standard rather than chase it.
The AI Factor
On-device artificial intelligence now sits at the center of the smart glasses pitch for every major player in the category. Apple’s own AI platform, Apple Intelligence, launched in late 2024 and integrates across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Extending Apple Intelligence to a glasses form factor would give the hardware a functional argument that stands independently of any fashion association.
Meta has already moved in this direction, embedding its Meta AI assistant — powered in part by its Llama large language model — directly into the Ray-Ban glasses through a software update rolled out in 2024.
The competitive pressure Apple faces is real. Meta has a head start, an established retail presence for the Ray-Ban line through EssilorLuxottica’s global network of approximately 18,000 retail locations, according to EssilorLuxottica's 2023 annual report.
Apple sells hardware through roughly 500 of its own retail stores worldwide, per Apple's official store locator data, though its broader distribution through third-party carriers and electronics retailers extends that reach considerably.
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